sealed bearings, stuck in hub

[jon22161]

just aquired a snipe trailer which has seen better days, the brakes are totally rusted away, my idea was to put on new unbraked hubs but i can't seem to find any to fit a 1.5 inch shaft, so i decided to remove all the brakes and grind and clean the brake drums to use as the unbraked hub, i got new bearings and tred to remove the old bearings, they totally disintergrated leaving just the outer casing in the hub, is it possible to get this out, i've tried but its hard to get at, i can't see how this can be removed, any ideas will be appreciated,

the trailer will only be used twice a year at most to take the boat 1 mile to the slip

[ashbypower]

Hi, the sealed for life bearings require quite a force to remove, we use a 12 tonne press!!
I suggest you take them along to a friendly garage , perhaps the promise of a pint or two would help!!

[Pikey Dave]

The bearings are retained by a big fk off circlip, make sure that all the rusted remains of the circlip have been removed & then they need pressing out as stated above. I have a 10 tonne press bought just for this job.

[Bern Hanreck]

I've had this problem , and once the bearings have broken up , the press option is not so simple . As has been said , make sure all the circlip is out , then attack with lots of lube & grease , and a drift & club hammer working evenly around the circumference .

If the bearing shell has already moved at all , it might be worth pushing it back in the " wrong " direction just to get it level . ( you may be able to use a fly press from this side ! ).

It's a trcky job but can be done . Be aware that if the hub does get damaged , you may have to replace ( try Western Towing ) . In theory , bearings should only be changed half a dozen times before hub is replaced anyway .

[Pikey Dave]

I use an old bearing as a drift to get the one I'm removing moving, if you get my er, drift

[doggypaddle]

Have you got a welder? easy way it to run a weld right around the race faces.(once the bearing has fallen apart)
when the welds cool they contract contracting the bearing too. they usually fall out once cooled then.

[free]

2nd doggypaddle, run weld round face, turn upside down, bang on bench, outer race will fall out.

free

[Rogue Wave]

Irony of a bloke called 'FREE' telling somebody how to release a bearing is not lost on me